'86 Estate Wagon Oil mystery

We just bought a 1986 Buick LeSabre Esate Wagon the other day and we've got a mystery oil leak problem. Every time we go to town and back or work and back (average 20 to 30 miles) it uses 2 quarts of oil. THe oil light never comes on, the engine runs as quiet as a mouse, there no pistons chattering of clashing, no rockers or valves can be heard lashing or tapping-- except when it first cranks in the morning, and the only time it smokes is when you first pull out from a stop or accelerate suddenly. There's no ryhme or reason to the smoking at all-- it doesn't do it all the time, nor does it have to be in a strain-- uphill/downhill-- for it to do it. My father thinks it might be a piston ring froze from sitting up to long or maybe a cracked ring. I'm not sure it would be either of those; because I've have cars with both those problems and they never drank that much in that short of a drive.

The general info on the engine is this: 307 V8, 4bbl, Rear wheel drive, automatic, power everything, 188,000 miles on the engine, 86 estate wagon.

Plus it has a weird thing about just shutting down, like you cut off the key, when you bottom the power-steering pump all the way out in a turn or if you put it in reverse after running it a lot during the day. Anyone got any answers on that one too?

Thanks for the help in advance,

TJW & ACW

Reply to
TJW & ACW
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You should be looking for oil leaks. If you were burning off 2 quarts in 20 or 30 miles and not leaking it, you'd see a rather obvious smoke screen behind you.

Chris

Reply to
Chris Z.

Well we changed the oil and checked the PCV valves and a looked for leaks; the filter was shoot to hell and back, and it looks like there is a minor leak under the bottom of the engine. However now, after putting a new filter and new oil in it, it smokes worse than it did before, yet still uses the same amoung of oil. We're thinking the engine was doped before we bought it and we just didn't catch on to it. Someone recommened Lucas Engine restore to redope it; but since I've only vaguely heard of that brand in passing I don't know how good it is.

Any suggestions?

Reply to
TJW & ACW

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